Sri Lanka

welcome to Sri Lanka

Formerly known as Ceylon.

A tiny island nation South of India in the Indian Ocean.

It is a rugged land of rainforest, diverse wildlife and endless beaches.

It's famed for its ancient Buddhist ruins, including the 5th century citadel Sigiriya.

_wikipedia

I celebrated my 28th birthday in this country :)

There is no direct from Manila to Colombo (capital city of Sri Lanka).

I flew from Manila to Kuala Lumpur,

stop over for 24 hours.

Then, Kuala Lumpur to Colombo.

Travel Application is available online or you can have Travel Visa on Arrival.

You may process your application here:

TVOA Application of Sri Lanka

Most travelers are granted 30 day travel stay.

After we got visa stamp entry, we catch a bus going to the city of Colombo.

Travel time will take an hour and a half depending on usual stops.

A friend advised us that fare ranges from 100-150 Sri Lankan Rupee.

We were asked first to pay 500 LKR each,

and when  we explained that we were told of the fare range,

it was haggle for 250 LKR each.

And, from the bus station walk for 5 minutes to the train station.

We plan to go directly to Hikkaduwa.

You may check Train Schedule thru: 

Colombo to Hikkaduwa Train Schedule

Fastest and easiest mode is train. Ocean view is along the way.

You may want to travel by bus,

whichever works convenient to you.

Hikkaduwa is a lazy beach side.

You may surf, you may swim, or you may just chill. All day.

Room rates in beach front ranges from 1500 to 3500 LKR.

It could be cheaper on the other side of the road, though.

Wifi is available anywhere.

Local and international food is served.

It is best to rent a scooter to get to places, 

but there are buses going down South.

We settle here for few days before we rent a bike 

for a South Sri Lankan road trip.

Ah! This is quite a conservative country.

Women are expected to wear pants or long skirt.

Spaghetti straps and flip flops are fine.

but inside the temple, you have to cover your shoulder.

Men are fine with any clothes but pants is required inside the temple,

or you may wear a long skirt too...

just like this man :)

In the beach, with it's growing tourism where most guest are EU.

Bikinis and swimming trunks are fine.

We packed our things, 

and say hello to the very warm summer.

First on the list: Galle Fort.

UNESCO World Heritage Site built in 1538 by the Portuguese 

and fortified by the Dutch during the the 17th century.

It has its own light house.

Exotic food you say?

Why not burned your tongue with this bread??

I just love how dramatically design branches can be..

Anyway.. going back to the road.

Second List: Unawatuna Beach.

It is the coastal town in Galle District.

It is famous for its beautiful coast and corals.

This beach has quite an expensive accommodation.

Next: Mirissa Beach.

Located in the southeast of Weligama.

It is also one of the famous beaches in Sri Lanka.

Therefore, it is quite crowded.

It has a twin beach.

I don't know the name... sorry :)

We stayed here for a while to dip.

The Temple of Trapobane Island.

Still part of Weligama.

This is just a along the way.

Next destination: Dondra Lighthouse.

The southernmost point in Sri Lanka 

and, one of the tallest (49 cm) in Asia.

It was built in 1890.

The sea side view.

My friend told me that this ocean faces directly to Antarctica.

Well, hello Antarctica!

Then, continue in Hummanaya.

The only known Blow Hole in the country,

and the second largest blowhole in the world.

Entrance Fee is 200 LKR.

with my afternoon drama :)

We decided to stay over night in Tangalle.

Mangrove in the lake which is 15 steps away from the beach.

I love how Sri Lankan care about their environment.

There are no trash.

They seldom cut trees as they considered this sacred.

So as cows and other animals.

In front of our rented room.

Ah! My kind of morning. Peaceful scenery.

Can you believe, I got tired of taking beach pictures.

I might sound ridiculous but after passing a lot of them,

they seem to look the same.

Next day, we went for a Jungle Beach.

Photo taken online.. I just enhance the color.

I don't have a pictures of it. Darn!

My camera and phone are low batteries. I forgot to bring my charger. 

What the heck!

Mulkirigala Rock Temple.

It is as high as 672 feet with an entrance fee of 200 LKR,

 and you have to remove your shoes, all the way to the top of the rock.

Just kidding, only in the worship area.

I was able to charge my phone. Thanks to my friend, Zhenya.

Inside the temple cave.

Buddha on its Nirvana statue.

He was just there.. eating while staring at humans.

After this temple spree, we decided to go back to Hikkaduwa.

But was agreed to change route.

This time passing the rough road, tea mountains and lakes.

Along the way.. I tried to search for this place in the map and I cannot find it.

It has a very nice lake in the other side of the road.

We returned to Hikkaduwa that night.. tired and happy.

With my travel friends.

Next few days was just beach chilling and sunset watching.

Then, prepare for our Central Sri Lankan: 

Ancient City Travel.

Train is the easiest as usual mode of transportation even to the mountain side.

First destination: Kandy. 

One of the major city in the Central Province,

and second largest after Colombo.

There are a lot of cheap hotel accommodation within the city.

This is the Temple of the Tooth: The Sri Dalawada Maligawa.

Entrance Fee is 1000 LKR.

It has a lake nearby.

It is believe that one tooth of Buddha is here.

It is crowded with people who want to see the whole palace.

And, the room full of gold where the tooth was kept.

Afternoon was spent on top of the hill.

With its Buddha Temple watching the city: Sri Maha Bodhi Maha Viharaya.

It is a located within the city.

Walking uphill may take 14-20 minutes depending on your speed.

No entrance fee.

The sky city view.

We decided to relax after we went back to our hotel

it was so hot that time of the month in the mountain.

Usually they say it is cold in Kandy.

Next destination: Sripada.

There are buses bound to Hatton for 3-4 hours travel time

and from there transfer to another bus going to Sri Pada

for an hour and a half travel time.

The view on the way is just so amazing. A mountain range of tea plantation.

Adam's Peak is a 2,243 m tall conical mountain.

Well known for Sri Pada (sacred footprint).

A crafted  foot print which is believed to be 

where the holy feet of Lord Buddha 

and Adam (Christians) 

initially printed in 1.8 m rock formation near the summit.

It is best to start climbing around 1 or 2 am 

and wait for the sunrise.

And, it is cold here.

During our climb, 

we were stuck in the middle of the mountain due to weekend pilgrimage.

It is best to travel during weekdays.

There are a lot of cheap hotel accommodation within the mountain foot area.

Next destination: Dambulla.

It is situated in the Matale District, Central Province.

We returned to Kandy and take another bus to Matale.

There are a lot of cheap hotel accommodation within the city.

Dambulla Cave is also known as Golden Temple of Dambulla.

A World Heritage Site.

Inside the cave. It has 5 chambers and its chamber has a story to tell.

Next destination: Sigiriya.

There are a lot of cheap hotel accommodation

 within this area and most traveler stay here for a while

 but we did not since we want to go back to the ocean side as soon as possible :)

Welcome to the 5th century citadel.

View from Pidurangala Rock.

Entrance Fee to the Sigiriya is 3,950 LKR  or $30.

We explore the the ancient kingdom for some interesting view.

Water Buffalo.

Monkey time! Cool.

Looking for passersby. Hello there!

Time to say good-bye to Sigiriya. It is an interesting place to see.

Next destination: ancient city of Polonnaruwa.

It is the Royal Kingdom during the 8th century.

Entrance Fee is $30.

A Stupa is  a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing 

sarira (relics),

typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns,

used as a place of meditation.

The city was burned during the India and Sri Lanka conflict.

Remains and ruins were preserved to this day,

to remind the rich heritage of the ancient kingdom.

I personally like this place.

We stayed here one day and one night.

There are a lot of cheap hotel accommodation outside the holy kingdom.

Sunset by the lake.

Next destination: Anuradhapura.

The capital city of North Central Province.

Entrance to the Ancient City is $25.

We also stayed here for one day and one night.

There are a lot of cheap hotel accommodation outside the holy kingdom.

Sri Maha Bodhi Temple.

With one of the oldest and holy tree in the world.

Time to go back to the OCEAN.

We catch a 5 am express train from Anuradhapura that goes to Hikkaduwa.

Hikkaduwa sunset.

We stayed one more week in the beach doing nothing all day..

We missed the Nuwara Eliya or the tea mountain.

We decided not to passed by as we had seen it in Hatton.

This interesting and beautiful country of Sri Lanka.

Next destination: India

Flight Fare: changes depending on flight schedule and season.

Hotel Room Rates varies per location.

Transportation Fare changes depending on your Haggling Skills.

Enjoy Sri Lanka!